Alaska's Artist Jon Van Zyle: My Colorful Life

Jon Van Zyle chronicles his life through his life adventure in his autobiographic Alaska's Artist Jon Van Zyle: A Life of Art and Adventure. He shares that adventure with some of his earliest paintings to his recent work, allowing readers to follow his long career. As a youth, Jon remembers his artistic mother encouraging him and his twin brother to express their creativity. It worked. Both Jon and his twin brother are professional artists: Jon in Alaska and his brother in Hawaii. His love of the outdoors lured Jon to Alaska and the entire 49th State has become his inspiration. Van Zyle immerses himself into Alaska's rugged outdoors. Twice he ran the famed Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and since 1979, has been the race's official artist. In 2004 he was inducted into the Iditarod Hall of Fame. Mushing, wildlife, fishing and the mystique of Alaska are favorite subjects of his and are featured in many of his works. Jon and his wife Jona raise and train sled dogs at the home in Eagle River Alaska. Their dogs aren't just for show; they are working dogs. The dogs are not only models for Van Zyle's artistry: they also partner with him and Jona on their adventures in Alaska s rugged wilderness. In Alaska's Artist Jon Van Zyle: A Life of Art and Adventure, the spirit of Alaska and the spirit of one of its most acclaimed artist become one. The adventure continues.